Eyebrows raised when Fraser Minten was on the Boston Bruins Rookie Camp roster. Minten played six games for the Bruins after being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, and the consensus is that he will earn a full-time spot on the team this year. The question was why the Bruins would risk injury for him to get two extra games at a rookie showcase.
If there's one knock on Minten's game, it's that he doesn't show too much offensive potential. It's fine if he sticks in his role of a third-line center, but as the game evolves, third lines are starting to contribute some form of offense to their teams. The Bruins hope that a couple of Rookie Camp games against his peers would help him get some offensive confidence before training camp.
If there was any doubt that Minten wasn't miles ahead of his peers, he silenced the critics in the first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He did make some solid offensive plays, but it was his decision making that really stood out over the 60 minutes. Minten seemed to be two steps ahead of the Penguins at all times, regularly reading plays before they happened and generating turnovers.
It isn't a huge surprise that a guy who split time between the NHL and AHL last season was a bit more poised than a group that largely consisted of junior league players and younger prospects. However, it's a glimpse into his potential. If he can get to a point where he is reading plays against NHLers as well as he did in Friday's game, he'll be a massive asset for the Bruins and a worthy return for the loss of Brandon Carlo.
Little give and go with Minten and Bancroft pic.twitter.com/nVF2bHf45R
— Mr. Tenkrat (@PeterTenkrat) September 12, 2025
A welcome sight for the Bruins in this game is that Minten looked a bit faster than he did a year ago. One area of his game that the Bruins hoped he'd work on was his footspeed, and he did look like one of the better skaters in this game. We'll still have to see him up against NHL competition, but it was a good step in the right direction and evidence that he is willing to put in the work.
The Bruins' next Rookie Camp game will be on Sunday against the New Jersey Devils. They had two players sit out on Friday as healthy scratches, so it's possible they'll give Minten the day off on Sunday to rest up for the start of next week's training camp. He doesn't have a whole lot more to prove after the first game against Pittsburgh.